everybody says "clown around" but no one ever asks "around, clown?" :(
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Latest Posts by aldysfool - Page 3
scenestlr:
grace’s lines were circling in her mind throughout most of the day. she knows her role well enough, has studied in her free time ever since learning who she’d play, and really, prince escalus wasn’t a difficult role. what she didn’t prepare for was that terrible feeling of returning to alderidge and being around everyone once again. she feels stares everywhere she goes, and she knows that after she goes on, it’ll only increase.
she can’t think about how she feels like the stares were becoming less and less about her and chandler. so she ignores the looks and heads outside. away from the police and everyone else in the refectory, the music fading into the background. she appreciates the night chill as it settles into her bones, her footsteps light upon the cobblestone. she lets out a small breath, and for a moment feels at peace. right until she hears his voice, reciting a soft line from the play. and of course, nate palmer had to be out here at the one spot away from the rest of the tiny bubble that was alderidge. she considers poking fun at his running of lines but lets the comment die in her throat. (does she say anything? does she keep walking past him like she didn’t see him? what do you say to someone who found a dead body?)
she moves towards the backdoors again, careful in her steps, but stops when she realizes the detectives have patrolled to their side of the room now. great. she wasn’t guilty, she knew that, but she didn’t want any interaction with them and whatever they wanted to find out. she turns back around, striding quickly towards the outside and where nate was smoking. she couldn’t handle the detectives and stares, but she knows she can handle nate palmer. “wow,” she intones as she leans against the outer wall, now concealed from the doors. “i didn’t mean to, uh, interrupt your serious rehearsal time. apologies.”
there are just some people in the world who don’t want to see others happy, and at this point, nate is convinced that grace ishihara is one of those people. he knew it was practically impossible for them to not see each other again ─ with such a small class size and the loom of orson’s death hanging over the department like a nimbus cloud, there was a high probability that he would have to talk to grace again before they graduated. which, honestly, couldn’t come any sooner.
nate laughs, because he always does, but this one is short and dry. “no worries. i’m just taking a page out of your book, y’know? trying to be a serious actor who cares about his craft for once. but, i gotta admit,” nate turns to face her and flicks his lighter open, “it’s as boring as it sounds.” the end of the joint burns, and nate looks back at grace with his best poker face.
there are plenty of things he could say right now that would probably be unnecessarily harsh, so he keeps his mouth shut for once. he has some sense of self-control, after all. instead, he takes a quick puff and asks, “those detectives are here for you, right?”
harryzhangs:
as enjoyable as harry finds the winter masque every year, even she needs a moment away from the crowds every now and then. tonight, it’s reached beyond a simple need for some fresh air– the constant presence of the detectives, making her paranoid that they’re watching her every move, has caused a nervous stir within harry that makes it difficult for her to keep her usual composure. she should be worry-free and having a great time catching up with her friends, but instead she’s worried about suspicion and fractures among her peers and the can of red spray paint wrapped in a plastic shopping bag under her bed.
she exits the refectory and slips off her heels, stretching her toes against the wet grass (that’s the funny thing about washington– everything is always rain-soaked. harry’s californian sensibilities still aren’t used to it). it’s cold, but in a bracing, refreshing way that harry doesn’t really mind at the moment. she takes a small wander, eyes fixed on the stars above her (the ones she can actually see through the clouds, at least), hardly noticing she’s coming up on nate until she’s just a few feet away from his back.
“two such opposèd kings encamp them still. in man as well as herbs– grace and rude will. fuck, i skipped a line, didn’t i?” harry grins, folding her arms against the chill. “well, i guess that spoils that i won’t be playing friar laurence tonight.”
when he hears harry interjecting with more friar lines, nate lets out a breath of relief. while he hadn’t necessarily gone outside to be alone all night (just a quick sec to catch his breath), nate had a split second of worry that whoever joined him was going to kill his vibe before it even got started. harry wasn’t one of those people. with the friar’s weed soliloquy replaying in his head, nate considers that he’s done his best to stay away from the alcohol tonight - this performance was too important, given the circumstances - and he should be rewarded before he has to go change into costume. fuck it.
nate laughs and turns to face harry, “aww, that sucks. well, please know that i’d pay good money to watch you transform into the friar any day. monastic tunic and all.” when the lighter ignites, nate rolls the joint between his fingers until the flame bites into the paper. at the sight of the burn, nate slips his lighter into his back pocket and glances over harry. before he raises the joint to his lips, he motions to her bare feet, “your night must be going as well as mine if the heels have come off,” he takes a hit and then extends the joint to her. harry looks like she could probably use something to take the edge off. it could be a long night.
“you want it in? i don’t have cooties. pinky swear.”
𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚌 & 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚖𝚊𝚗:
“tybalt, the reason that i have to love thee, doth much excuse the appertaining rage, to such a greeting: villain am i none; therefore farewell; i see thou know'st me not.”
teddy is having the time of his life playing the lead young lover, romeo. one of his favorites to play, ted has memorized the lines since he was sixteen. so he is trying to make the most of it, trying to enjoy it and forget the policemen in the audience or the heavy weight of orson’s absence. if he was still here, teddy knows he wouldn’t be playing romeo. so he is giving it his all. as a last fuck you to his mentor.
and so he plays the part of the lover trying to make amends with the in-laws.
“i do protest, i never injured thee, but love thee better than thou canst devise, till thou shalt know the reason of my love: and so, good capulet,—which name i tender, as dearly as my own,—be satisfied,” he finishes his line with the most charming smile he can muster. it’s not hard, trying to charm his way around julien. it’s almost playful, the way he looks at him, hoping tybalt would understand romeo’s attempts at peace.
but they all know it won’t be like that. and tragedy, much like in real life, is just about to ensue.
( @aldysfool )
nate had been buzzing for the past two weeks since he got the assignment to prepare for arguably the best character in the play. there hadn’t been a day when he rehearsed his lines, or gone over every single piece of stage combat sebastian taught them. mercutio was complex by design; flamboyant, yet provoking, cynical, yet insightful. nate happily stepped into this role.
“o calm dishonorable, vile submission,” nate moves to purposefully - but gently - push teddy behind him, rolling his eyes in the process. he faces his peer, and with a wink, “alla stoccata carries it away.” nate loosens the cape draped around his shoulder and calmly folds it over before handing it to romeo. this is the scene of r&j, and dammit, his goal was to die in style. nate reaches for the hilt of his weapon strapped to his side and he calls out for his dueling partner, “tybalt, you rat-catcher!” nate unsheathes his rapier and makes a swift turn to point at julian. nate tries not to imagine julian actually managing to kill him, so he flashes his best grin as he finishes the taunt: “will you walk?” giving nate a character with more motives than making the audience laugh? orson hobbs has left the chat. ...wait, he’s dead. fuck.
he breathes and he focuses back on good ol’ mercutio - who extends a cat metaphor while managing to look somewhat intimidating. “will you pluck your sword out of his pitcher by the ears?” nate tosses his weapon between his hands as he makes a wide circle around julian. nate goes to make eye contact, “make haste,” and taps the rapier twice against the ground, and it reminds him that it’s real metal which stresses him out - but nate clenches his jaw and gets into position anyway. “lest mine be about your ears ere it be out.”
/@juliansbennet
outside the refectory, early in the night, open starter.
in theory, masque balls are pretty badass. while nate never needed a good excuse to put on a costume and party, he did appreciate the way aldy really went up for the ball every winter. from the lighting fixtures to the material of the tablecloths - someone had their priorities straight when it came to using that 60k/yr tuition. when the ball began, nate had floated between the tables - laughter lingering behind after every encounter. this was his element. it’s too bad the detectives were watching, or he might’ve found a way to spike the drinks a while ago. well, the night’s still young. he spots the dance floor.
five consecutive songs later - because music is an experience that most take for granted - nate shoves an app or two (or three) in his mouth and makes through the back doors of the refectory. it had barely been two hours, but his anxiety was still rising and he was becoming agitated. this would need to be fixed before the performance tonight. the air is chilly and thin, perfect conditions for a visit from mary & juan. nate reaches into his shoe and pulls out a lil’ skinny joint and a lighter. but he hesitates to put it to his lips.
“within the infant rind of this small flower, poison hath residence and medicine power.” feeling pensive about friar lawrence’s words, nate huffs, not noticing that someone’s joined him.
who the fuck swiped my capri-sun?, an intro.
hey all you cool cats & kittens, i hope you enjoy getting an abridged version of this lil’ shit. xoxo, gossip girl. (sorry, i re-watched the season finale the other night.)
STATS
name: nathaniel “nat(e)” palmer as the comic.
gender & pronouns: genderqueer & he/him.
age & date of birth: 22 & dec 2nd. (sagittarius, babyyyyy)
sexuality: pansexual
hometown: in ur heart
nate, a vine collection: yup, this one, uh huh, also this & one more!
character parallels: phillip gallagher (shameless), donkey (shrek), jughead jones (exclusively archie comics), nathan young (misfits)
ABOUT
full app. | pinterest.
alllllright, so nate was born with some hearing loss & just when the doctors thought he was going to live a life of rapid hearing loss, his adopted parents swooped in & turned all that shit around for him. in those early days especially, he was so obsessed with being all of what they could hope for and more, that he undoubtedly absorbed so much of their love & support in comparison to his brother.
but anywho, he had surgery for two cochlear implants before age 6, and it’s worked out for him, especially because he was (and still is) a quick study. kid’s got a knack for learning/adapting like nobody’s business. but hey, he’s a human - he’s bound to make mistakes and the expectations got so high that he got frustrated with himself and decided enough was ENOUGH. the golden shine he had was starting to wear off.
so, then’s there the Age of Ethan Crabgrass - which yes, is someone from nate’s past that caused a lot of trouble for him - but honestly, the name is more of a representation for all the discrimination and bullshit nate had to fight against. and fight, he did. in a small literal way, but mostly in a social way. humor is his best and sharpest weapon, and he’s had lots of practice wielding it.
found theatre in one of those moments ya see on the movies where the character is walking by the auditorium and the magic of the stage just pulls them in (like glee omg). it’s also where he started drinking alcohol, smoking mary & juan, and exploring his gender/how he wants to present himself to the world. the love he felt there led him straight to alderidge.
so yes, he kinda blackmailed orson after he found out - through his connects in the art department - about the extent of orson’s drug habits & took this spicy info. straight to the source. i imagine their conversation left nate feeling like he was going to Soar in this dept. troil & cress gave him a little more to work with, but he was still hungry to do something different. but then orson dies, and nate has...lots of feelings.
speaking of which, he has a therapist he’s seen since first year, dr. june, but for the last month or two, he hasn’t spoken to her. he’s too busy doing more drugs, having lots of sex, and being a Shit. to sit down and unpack that entire night and what it means is something he is putting off until...? he’s not sure, tbh. orson’s death has him Shook.
aldy (as he fondly calls alderidge) has been some of the best years of nate’s life. which is probably why he’s trying his hardest to soak up every single moment while he still can. he knows he and the rest of his classmates might not be bffs after this is all said and done, but he wants to create some lasting memories (read: be more Annoying than usual this semester).
HEADCANONS
so i did this thing here that’s my interpretation of potential connections for nate to all of his peers. from the chameleon to the villian, nate’s thoughts about everyone is there! feel free to read & if you dig what he had to say, let me know! if you hate what he had to say, let me know! (if i don’t reach out first!)
fluent in ASL (let him teach you, it’s his favorite thing) & knows lots of bad words in different languages
gives “cute” nicknames to lots of things, because hey, words are hard and sometimes his mind runs faster than his mouth. there’s probably a dictionary of these words collected over the past few years. (e.g., supe effin awk, ors ho, cae sal, mary & juan)
wants the chance to be a Serious Actor, for once in his academic career. with orson dead, maybe that has a better chance to happen. and...if nate’s honest, he’s not as sad as he should be.
especially since he still has jason’s watch, nate’s spidey senses have been tinglin’. like, i imagine he’s gonna be nosy and want to figure out what the hell went down that night. not to snitch, but to protect whoever he can. if he can.
what is a jester with no audience.. when a clown jokes in an empty forest does the little honk have any meaning
Things I am always down for no questions asked:
-Roadtrips
-Campfires
-Breakfast for dinner
-Hot coffee and good conversation
-Book shopping
-Naps
